Stocks Hold Mild Losses; On Assignment, Ruckus Slide

Stocks were still mildly lower Friday afternoon after giving up small gains. Overall activity in the stock market today was again on a tight leash.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 were both off by a fraction after edging to fresh multiyear highs. The Dow Jones industrial average was also down a fraction. Volume was tracking sharply higher on the NYSE, due to options expiration. But Nasdaq trade was tracking lower.

On Assignment (ASGN) trimmed a 14% loss to 10%. Shares gapped way down in reaction to the staffing firm's disappointing Q4 earnings and weak outlook. The rebound puts the stock back near its 50-day moving average and a 20.84 buy point in a flat base. On Assignment was up as much as 19% following its Jan. 2 breakout.

November IPO Ruckus Wireless (RKUS) slumped 8% and sliced its recently formed 50-day moving average. Late Tuesday, the maker of Wi-Fi equipment easily beat expectations with Q4 earnings and sales that grew 14% and 51%, respectively. It also gave in-line guidance for the current quarter, but shares dived 12% Wednesday.

B&G Foods (BGS) gapped down, dived 7% and sliced its 50-day line after reporting disappointing results late Thursday. The maker of Cream Of Wheat and Mrs. Dash seasonings turned in Q4 earnings of 32 cents a share, up 7% from a year ago. But it missed views by 7 cents. Sales rose 16% to $173.7 million or below expectations for $180.3 million. Intraday, the stock fell 8% below a 32.60 buy point from a handle cleared Thursday.

Generac (GNRC) reversed early losses and powered up 4% in heavy trading. The comeback puts it nearly back to a 37.32 buy point from a cup-with-handle base. Earlier Friday, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded the stock to buy from hold and placed a price target at $42. On Thursday, the maker of generators easily beat views with fourth-quarter earnings that climbed 14% to 87 cents a share. Sales rose 28% to $342 million. Superstorm Sandy helped its results[ But the stock still slumped 9%.

Stocks were still mildly lower Friday afternoon after giving up small gains. Overall activity in the stock market today was again on a tight leash.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 were both off by a fraction after edging to fresh multiyear highs. The Dow Jones industrial average was also down a fraction. Volume was tracking sharply higher on the NYSE, due to options expiration. But Nasdaq trade was tracking lower.

On Assignment (ASGN) trimmed a 14% loss to 10%. Shares gapped way down in reaction to the staffing firm's disappointing Q4 earnings and weak outlook. The rebound puts the stock back near its 50-day moving average and a 20.84 buy point in a flat base. On Assignment was up as much as 19% following its Jan. 2 breakout.

November IPO Ruckus Wireless (RKUS) slumped 8% and sliced its recently formed 50-day moving average. Late Tuesday, the maker of Wi-Fi equipment easily beat expectations with Q4 earnings and sales that grew 14% and 51%, respectively. It also gave in-line guidance for the current quarter, but shares dived 12% Wednesday.

B&G Foods (BGS) gapped down, dived 7% and sliced its 50-day line after reporting disappointing results late Thursday. The maker of Cream Of Wheat and Mrs. Dash seasonings turned in Q4 earnings of 32 cents a share, up 7% from a year ago. But it missed views by 7 cents. Sales rose 16% to $173.7 million or below expectations for $180.3 million. Intraday, the stock fell 8% below a 32.60 buy point from a handle cleared Thursday.

Generac (GNRC) reversed early losses and powered up 4% in heavy trading. The comeback puts it nearly back to a 37.32 buy point from a cup-with-handle base. Earlier Friday, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded the stock to buy from hold and placed a price target at $42. On Thursday, the maker of generators easily beat views with fourth-quarter earnings that climbed 14% to 87 cents a share. Sales rose 28% to $342 million. Superstorm Sandy helped its results[ But the stock still slumped 9%.

See Also

Hewlett-Packard is taking aim at Cisco Systems with its bid to buy Aruba Networks, but HP might not be done making acquisitions before its split-up, analysts say. The struggling computer maker early Monday confirmed plans to acquire Aruba for $24.67 a share, or about $3 billion. The deal, which ...

The maker of residential and industrial generators reached a 6-month high after topping views by 21 cents with a 12% EPS dip to 98 cents. Revenue rose 7.4% to $404 mil, beating views for $359.3 mil, as generator sales to the oil and gas industry rose. Generac (NYSE:GNRC) said it expects '15 sales ...

Generac (NYSE:GNRC) shares touched a six-month high Wednesday after it reported strong fourth-quarter sales and earnings, which got a boost from generator sales to the oil and gas industry. The maker of residential and industrial generators also expects 2015 sales will rise in the low-to-mid-single ...

02/11/2015 02:13 PM ET

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